Page 27

CORA

T he door clicked shut behind them, sealing the world out.

Cora stood just inside the threshold of Callum’s cabin, breath shallow, skin tingling.

The air inside was warm, thick with pine and cedar smoke—and the scent of him.

That deep, masculine blend of earth and spice that made her body hum before he even touched her.

She could feel him everywhere, and he hadn’t even laid a hand on her yet.

He turned slowly.

The shadows bent around his massive frame, blue eyes locked on hers, dark and full of restraint he wouldn’t be able to hold onto much longer.

The moonlight hit him just right—illuminating the shaggy brown and gold waves of his hair, the sharp cut of his cheekbones, and the tight stretch of his t-shirt over a body built by years of patrol and protection.

She stepped forward, fingers brushing the edge of the old wooden table as she passed. Her magic stirred inside her—not chaotic, not spiking. It moved with his presence. Like leaves swaying to a steady wind.

He met her in the middle, towering over her, but still.

Waiting.

She reached up, cupped his face in both hands. “You don’t have to be careful.”

His jaw flexed beneath her thumbs. “I’ve only ever wanted to be careful with you.”

Her lips parted.

He kissed her.

Slow. Anchoring. The kind of kiss that said stay . That said mine . Her spine melted, her stomach twisted into heat, and her pulse pounded behind her ribs.

When he pulled back, his forehead rested against hers. “Still sure?”

“More than ever.”

He lifted her easily, muscles flexing as he carried her across the room. Her breath caught as she threw her arms around his shoulders, the scent of him thick in her nose—warm spice, sweat, pine. He didn’t toss her onto the bed. He laid her down, reverent, as though every inch of her mattered.

Her green wrap dress sighed off her shoulders.

His gaze roamed.

His hands followed.

Calloused palms slid up her bare thighs, brushing slowly over the softness there. His thumbs dipped into her waist, fingers trembling just slightly as he traced the shape of her ribs. Her whole body lit up under his touch—want, heat, magic.

“Beautiful,” he whispered. “You’re… unreal.”

Her hands found his chest, pushed up under his shirt. “Off.”

He obeyed.

The shirt came off in one smooth motion, revealing the powerful stretch of golden skin over hard muscle. His chest was dusted with dark hair, his body as wild and perfect as the lion that lived inside him. The amber flicker in his eyes made her shiver.

She sat up and pressed her lips to his chest, to the place where his heart thundered against her mouth. “Safe,” she murmured.

He groaned—low, guttural—like the word snapped something inside him.

The kiss he gave her then was nothing like the first.

Hot. Desperate. Possessive.

His mouth trailed down her throat, her collarbone, her chest. He peeled the rest of the dress from her like unwrapping something sacred. He kissed the inside of her knee, the soft skin of her hip. Every touch, every scrape of teeth, was a worship.

Her thighs parted beneath his hand.

He cupped her pussy, slow and testing, and she gasped—hips jerking up at the contact. His fingers slid between her folds, circling her clit, teasing the slick heat already there.

“You’re so wet for me, baby,” he rasped, voice thick with restraint. “So fucking soft.”

She moaned, fingers digging into his shoulders. “Don’t stop.”

“I won’t. I need to taste you.”

He lowered himself between her thighs, lips brushing her skin as he went, until his mouth was on her pussy.

The first drag of his tongue made her cry out, thighs tightening around his head.

He groaned into her, his stubble scraping lightly against her inner thighs as his tongue licked deep and slow.

“Oh god, Callum…”

He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to.

He licked and sucked and worshipped, every stroke building her toward the edge. Her magic pulsed around them—golden light flickering in the air like fireflies as the pressure coiled tighter and tighter inside her.

When she came, it was loud, helpless, fierce.

Her hands flew to his hair, gripping tight. Her back arched. Her body trembled. And he didn’t stop—his tongue coaxing every last ripple of pleasure from her until she was panting and slick with sweat.

He kissed her inner thigh, then crawled up her body, mouth slick and eyes blazing.

She reached for him. Wrapped her legs around his hips. “Please,” she whispered, voice shredded. “I want you. I want your cock inside me.”

His forehead pressed to hers, his voice broken. “I don’t think I can let you go after this.”

“Then don’t.”

He lined himself up, the thick, hard length of his cock nudging against her slick entrance. Cora's breath hitched, eyes fluttering closed as the swollen head slid along her folds, teasing her, testing her.

“Callum,” she whispered, voice shaking.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured. “Gonna go slow.”

He pressed forward, inch by devastating inch, splitting her open with aching care.

Her pussy stretched to take him, the burn delicious and deep, pleasure rippling through her as her body welcomed him in.

He was thick. Hard. Her cunt clenched instinctively around him, drawing him in deeper until he bottomed out with a groan torn from the base of his throat.

Her mouth fell open, back arching off the bed as she gasped, the fullness overwhelming and perfect. He filled every inch of her, grounding her to the moment, to him.

“Fuck,” he bit out, voice raw. He stilled, buried to the hilt inside her. “You feel like heaven. Hot. Tight. Like your pussy was made to hold me.”

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, nails biting into the muscles of his back. “Move,” she begged, breathless. “Please, Callum. I need it. I need you.”

He pulled back slowly, the slide of his cock dragging along her inner walls, then pushed in again—deep and slow. Again. And again. Each thrust was deliberate, carving her name into his bones.

“You feel so good,” she whimpered, head rolling against the pillows. “So fucking good.”

He growled low in his chest, sweat beginning to bead along his brow as he fought to keep the pace slow. “You’re gripping me so tight, baby. Can feel every flutter of your pussy.”

His cock slid in and out, glistening with her arousal. The sound of wet heat and the slap of skin filled the cabin. Her thighs wrapped higher around his waist, ankles locking behind him, urging him deeper.

Her magic responded, golden light sparking around them like fireflies, flickering in time with each deep stroke of his cock. He fucked her like a man starved, like he’d waited lifetimes for her—because maybe he had.

Her hands roamed—over his shoulders, into his hair, down the strong lines of his back. Her hips rolled to meet every thrust, each grind of his pelvis pressing against her clit and dragging moans from her throat.

“Say it again,” he growled, lips brushing her jaw, his cock pounding deep.

“You feel good,” she gasped. “Perfect. Like you were made for me.”

A feral sound tore from his throat. His control snapped.

He kissed her hard, tongue fucking her mouth as his cock fucked her body. His rhythm changed—less slow now, more hungry. He thrust harder, faster, driving into her with possessive, primal need.

Cora sobbed out a moan, legs trembling as her pussy fluttered around him. “Callum—gods, I’m close…”

He lifted her hips, angling deeper, fucking her into the mattress. “That’s it. Let me feel it.”

Her body was a livewire. Her magic arced across the room. Pressure built behind her ribs, inside her core—tight and blinding.

“You’re gonna come for me,” he panted, voice rough and possessive. “Gonna soak my cock just like that, pretty girl. Fuck—look at me while you fall apart.”

Her eyes snapped to his, dazed and wide, green glowing faintly in the golden light swirling around them.

“Come for me,” he whispered into her skin. “Come all over my cock.”

And she did.

It hit hard—waves of heat and pleasure crashing through her, pussy clenching wildly around his cock, pulling him deeper, milking him. She screamed his name, thighs locked around his waist, body shaking.

Callum snarled, hips slamming forward as he thrust once—twice—then buried himself deep and came with a broken growl. His cock pulsed inside her, hot and thick, filling her with every drop. His whole body trembled with the force of it.

He stayed buried in her, forehead pressed to hers, both of them gasping.

The world narrowed to skin, sweat, and breath. Her magic settled in soft pulses around them, curling like warmth between their bodies.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment.

Eventually, he kissed her—slow, reverent—and gently pulled out, drawing a shudder from her lips. She whimpered at the loss.

Callum gathered her against him, cradling her close as he lay back, his chest rising and falling fast beneath her cheek.

He pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, voice barely above a whisper.

“You’re safe,” he said. “With me.”

Cora didn’t just want to believe it.

She did .